best internal ssd hard drive for imac 2013

For something like this I also recommend contacting OWC to discuss your requirements.Since you have the skills necessary to perform this upgrade, I would focus on ensuring you can actually get a compatible SSD with the storage you need. OWC Complete Hard Drive Upgrade Kit Including Tools for all 27' iMacs 2012 & Later.OWC Solid State Drives For iMac 27-Inch (Late 2013 - Current).How to Upgrade or Install a PCIe SSD in a 27-inch Apple iMac with Retina 5K Display (2019).How to Upgrade or Install a SATA Drive (SSD or HDD) in the Main Drive Bay of a 27-inch Apple iMac (2012 - Current).I haven't actually seen inside a 2019 model 27' iMac yet, so can't give you a definitive answer in terms of height clearance.īefore biting the bullet and ordering one of these machines, I would take a look at the following to ensure you can get what you need and also do what you want.

You will need to purchase one from a vendor that specialises in Mac hardware to ensure you get what you need. However, getting a compatible 'Blade' SSD is not as easy as walking into any computer store and buying one. Secondary storage uses a NVMe PCIe 'Blade' connection.Primary storage uses a 3.5' 6 Gb/s SATA 3.0 connection.Without this you can't attempt what you're wanting to do. These models support a 7 mm tall SATA III (6 Gb/s) hard drive for the primary storage (using the 3.5' size as opposed to the 2.5'), and getting the Fusion drive means you'll also get what's called a small 'blade' SSD via a PCIe connector. So my question is, does the onboard PCIe SSD connector on the 2019 27' model conform to one of the industry standard M.2 form factors, or does Apple still use their own proprietary blade-style SSD connectors?Īlso as a bonus, what is the maximum height clearance for the 3.5' SATA hard drive bay? I know that Apple was using proprietary connectors for their SSDs a few years ago (they were first to market with PCIe-based SSDs before the NVMe spec was finalized in the PC world). But since my previous machine is so old, I am a bit out of the loop on newer Apple hardware. I understand that this is complicated surgery for this model and I have the skills necessary to perform the work. Ditch the Fusion Drive setup in favor of two independently formatted internal drives.Replace the 3TB spinning HDD with the largest SATA drive that will physically fit inside the case (hopefully a 12 or 16TB drive - I need lots of storage).Replace the 128GB SSD with a 1 or 2TB SSD.I want to buy the high-end model iMac with the fusion drive and make the following upgrades: My old workhorse 17' MacBook Pro (circa 2011) finally gave up the ghost after 8 years of reliable service (may it rest in peace), and I'm looking into a 27' iMac to replace it.

Best internal ssd hard drive for imac 2013